Transfigurations

Welcome to Transfigurations! This blog is intended to serve the orthodox Anglican community and the wider Christian community. We pray that all that is posted here will be faithful to the Scriptures as the inspired word of God, speak the truth in love, edify, bless and transform this local body of Christ, and be an impetus for revival, repentance, prayer and intercession!

Artists’ Free Speech Rights at Stake in Washington Florist Case An African-American marketer should not be forced to create an advertising campaign for a white supremacist group. Nor should a Muslim graphic designer be required to develop a webpage promoting Jewish teachings, or a Democrat freelance writer be ordered to draft political speeches for Republicans.

Most agree with this, but Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson apparently does not.

Through his advocacy, he is trying to construct a real-life dystopia in which these and similar professionals will be forced to create expressive materials—like advertising campaigns and webpages—to promote, and even celebrate, ideas that violate their convictions.

The most recent evidence of this came when the Washington Supreme Court heard arguments in Ferguson’s case against Barronelle Stutzman.Bioethicists Want To Purge Christian Doctors
Two academic bioethicists want to bar Christians and those who hold other traditional religious beliefs from practicing medicine, and even from attending medical school. The pair fear, as the National Post summarizes, doctors might “impose their values on patients.”

Of course, it is impossible — not unlikely: impossible — for doctors not to impose their values on patients. Even using a tongue depressor on a patient presupposes certain moral values. (Presumably the doctor is doing this to aid in his goal of healing the patient, a moral value.) Since morality infuses all actions, the only real question is this: what moral values should doctors hold?...

Double Standards on Abortion and Animal Rights ... In order to reach the desired conclusion that abortion is morally permissible while animal use is not, the authors argue that membership in the human species is not the necessary condition for moral rights. Instead, they contend, sentience—the ability to feel pleasure and pain—should be the moral and legal basis for entitlements.

Although they are law professors, the authors seem to forget that the recognition of humanity alone as a basis for human rights entitlement has long been expressly recognized in international human rights instruments to which the United States is a party, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Their reliance on sentience as the only moral criterion seems to be particularly inspired by utilitarianism, notably the writings of Peter Singer. They do not provide any legal justification for sentience as a legal standard, however, and reject fetal pain laws and partial-birth abortion bans, even though they could actually provide support for their own case in favor of sentience.

The rights of sentient animals, the authors argue, should only be limited by considerations of “necessity,” which they present as virtually nonexistent. They reject the idea that eating animal products is necessary for human health; they believe all dietary consumption of animal products is, instead, harmful. Animal medical experimentation, according to the authors, is also unnecessary. Even where an experiment on an animal might produce a breakthrough in the treatment of an otherwise untreatable human disease, it is, in their opinion, morally unacceptable in almost every instance because it uses the lives of other sentient beings “as instruments.”...

The Advent season and the Exodus
...For the Psalmist that meant remembering the story of the exodus. He alludes to the plagues on Egypt and he describes the parting of the Red Sea. The exodus story kicks off when God meets Moses at the burning bush. “I have come down,” God tells Moses, “to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians” (Exodus 3 v 8). God came down to reveal himself, to liberate Israel from slavery and to form them as his own people. This was the great defining moment for Israel. And it’s recalling this moment that so radically changes the Psalmist’s perspective on life...

Clinton Foundation received money from the German government prior to the presidential election ..."Yes, and we don’t know what the quantity of these so-called donations were – the payoffs, the bribes. Of course it was an attempt not only to influence the future Hillary administration, they must have assumed it would help her in the campaign too, because of shared staffer and that sort of thing - but maybe much more than that, we don’t know. All we know for sure is that it is crooked; it is a criminal act against the German people, against the American people too for that matter – payoffs from one politician to another using other people’s money. Let’s bring it all out, expose it, let’s do what we can to try to stop it in the future. And I would hope that Trump never sets up a ‘Trump Foundation’ of such a crooked nature."...

Hackers take over Israeli television
...During the disruption, which lasted about half a minute, images of Muslim holy sites were shown with Muslim prayers playing in the background.

Images from the recent fires in Israel were also shown, along with the words "Allah is great" written in Hebrew...

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

It was not suddenly and unannounced...

It was not suddenly and unannounced that Jesus came into the world. He came into a world that had been prepared for him. The whole Old Testament is the story of a special preparation …Only when all was ready, only in the fullness of his time, did Jesus come. ...Phillips Brooks image

Peter Jensen: Against the charge of Homophobia

29th November 2016

It’s a pretty heavy thing to be accused of homophobia. The word is not an intellectual judgement but a more damning moral one.

There have always been examples of unkind attitudes, bullying and discrimination towards people who appear to be, or who identify as, homosexual, just as there has always been racism, snobbery and other ugly traits. Sadly, Christians have sometimes been guilty of this, and in doing so we are failing to follow the way of Christ.

However, in recent years the accusation of ‘homophobia’ has been levelled not just at these unkind attitudes towards gay people, but also reasoned biblical convictions about problems associated with homosexual practice, and any expression of concern about the power and intolerance of pressure groups. We are told that no matter how compassionate a person is towards gay people, if we do not fully embrace the goodness of the gay identity and lifestyle we are homophobes. We are said to rely on irrational feelings and thoughts to reject and damage homosexual people.

You cannot argue your way out of such a moral judgement. You are not being accused of using bad arguments to support a case, but of reacting viscerally in an immoral and damaging way.

Not surprisingly, in the West in particular, those who wish to argue for a traditional sexual ethic have been intimidated by the word. It is tragic to see once orthodox churches compromise with the world at this crucial point and become activists for a worldly morality. But it is even more tragic to see otherwise orthodox people lose confidence in their convictions because their compassion is questioned, and so find themselves unable to speak up for Biblical teaching.

Many ministers fail to teach clearly on this crucial issue and hope that somehow the intimidation will pass. The result is moral confusion and spiritual inertia in the churches...

Castro, Chavez, and 'bad luck'; Death sentence for killers of Christian couple burned alive in Pakistan...more

Which brings me to the other story, the death of Cuban dictator-for-life Fidel Castro. Although many among Western political and entertainment elites still think of Fidel Castro fondly, such people are, at best, what Lenin called “useful idiots.” In fact, as Yale professor Carlos Eire notes in The Washington Post, Castro was not a benevolent patron of the poor, but a "brutal Big Brother” who crushed dissent, tortured, imprisoned and executed his critics, and stole everything he cared to steal from his island’s inhabitants. He lived the lifestyle of an emperor, while his people were subjected to poverty. He persecuted gay people and Christians, and exported war and terror.

Oh, he said things about equality and justice, but those were lies. In his country, as in socialist dictatorships everywhere, there were two sets of rules: Those for the connected elite, and those for the subjects. They talk about equality, but what they set up turns out to be an awful lot like a monarchy.

Both Venezuela and Cuba have suffered under leaders who enriched themselves and their families. Chavez’s daughter is the richest person in Venezuela, with a net worth in the billions, while in true “socialist equality” fashion, Cuba is now run by Castro’s brother, Raul...

The Equality and Human Rights Commission's (EHRC) major new report will lambast over-zealous employees who are afraid of references to Christmas or the Lord's Prayer. Seen by the Mail on Sunday, the report especially criticises a ban an advert featuring the Lord's Prayer...

A mob of about 600 people beat to near-death Shahzad Masih, 26, and his five-months-pregnant wife Shama Bibi, 24, for their “blasphemous” act on 4 Nov. 2014, in a village 60 kilometres from Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab region. The couple were then thrown into the large kiln where they worked as bonded labourers...

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Study Finds Churches with Conservative Theology Still Growing ...The project surveyed more than 2,200 churchgoers from Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran and United churches in Ontario, according to an executive summary. About half were part of 13 mainline Protestant congregations whose membership had declined at least 2 percent over the past decade, while the other half attended nine churches that had grown at the same rate.

Researchers attended services at all 22 churches, after which they asked congregants to complete a 40-question survey, Haskell said. They also interviewed all clergy and a number of congregants who had completed the survey.

In those interviews, most clergy and the congregants of the declining churches blamed changes in society for a drop in demand for religion.

But, comparing the religious beliefs and practices of both the declining and growing churches, Haskell said more clergy and congregants of the growing churches held firmly to “traditional” Christian beliefs and were more diligent in practices such as prayer and Bible reading. That includes a more literal interpretation of the Bible and greater openness to the idea that God intervenes in the world, he said...

The Tsunami the Media Never Saw Coming
...So, on Election Day, voters fed up with the arrogance of the elites didn't only reject Hillary Clinton -- or Barack Obama and his legacy, or big swatches of liberal culture in general -- they also rejected the liberal media elite, the ones who thought they were smarter and better than ordinary Americans...

“He’s our Jesus Christ. We’re crazy,” said Jaff, not without self-awareness. “It’s 10 years later, and we’re still obsessed.”...

How Journalism Turns Into Propaganda ...Somehow, large parts of our civil society have succumbed to that base but instinctive drive in people to lord it over others. That drive, as always, motivates those who tend to seek the reins of power. History is filled with unsavory characters determined to reset the universe so it revolves around them...

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Anglican Unscripted Episode 259

Nov 18, 2016

Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Each Episode Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe. Please Donate - http://anglican.ink/donate

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Anglican Unscripted Episode 258 with Jeff Walton

Nov 16, 2016Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Each Episode Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe. Please Donate - http://anglican.ink/donate

Tozer, youth ministry, and a plug nickle
...It is now [1960’s] common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God’s professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games and refreshments.

This has influenced the whole pattern of church life, and even brought into being a new type of church architecture designed to house the golden calf.

So we have the strange anomaly of orthodoxy in creed and heterodoxy in practice. The striped-candy technique has been so fully integrated into our present religious thinking that hit is simply taken for granted. Its victims never dream that it is not a part of the teachings of Christ and His apostles....

Anne Kennedy: That’s Not Very Nice: A Word in Defense of Kindness ...Niceness is, “why can’t we all just get along.” Kindness is, “we don’t seem to be getting along, what seems to be the trouble?” Niceness is a crinkly smile. Kindness is taking the trouble to say something upsetting that is weighing on your mind. But! Not saying Everything. Not just letting all your thoughts and feelings flatten everyone around you as if they were the truth...

The Arabic speaker worked in a number of asylum centres across the country and went undercover to discover migrants were preaching 'pure hatred' about non-Muslims and women were planning to have more children to 'destroy Christians'.

She said the hostility is also visible at asylum homes, where Muslim children refuse to play with Christians...

Several European governments are making it clear to their citizens that criticizing migrants or European migrant policies is criminally off limits. People who go "too far," according to the authorities, are being arrested, prosecuted and at times convicted.

In the Netherlands, the police visited people who naïvely made critical comments about asylum centers on Twitter in October 2015. In the town of Sliedrecht, police came to Mark Jongeneel's office and told him that he tweeted "too much" and that he should "watch his tone": his tweets "may seem seditious". His offense? The town had held a citizens meeting about a refugee center in the region, and Jongeneel had posted a few tweets. One said: "The College of #Sliedrecht comes up with a proposal to take 250 refugees over the next two years. What a bad idea!" Earlier he had also tweeted: "Should we let this happen?!"

Brad Avakian has served as commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries since 2008.

In that role, he achieved national notoriety for investigating Sweet Cakes by Melissa, a bakery that refused to furnish a wedding cake for two lesbians on the grounds that doing so would violate the owners’ Christian beliefs. In 2015, Avakian levied a $135,000 fine on the store’s owners, Aaron and Melissa Klein, declaring that their refusal to produce the cake wasn’t protected by the First Amendment and instead was simply illegal discrimination. In October, the bakery shut down entirely...

The tablet was discovered in 1913 during excavation for a railroad line near the modern city of Yavneh in Western Israel. Someone, possibly a construction worker, acquired it and set it in a courtyard where it remained until 1943 when it was acquired by an archeologist, who owned it until his death in 2000...

Gosh, it's certainly your right to disagree with the election of Donald Trump...however, these incidents are just unacceptable:

Victim David Wilcox retreated and curled up into a ball, but not because he was afraid of being hurt. He told the I-Team that he was terrified of fighting back and going to prison where he has spent many years of his adult life...

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Anglican Unscripted Episodes 256 and 257

November 11, 2016Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Each Episode Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe. Please Donate - http://anglican.ink/donate

Documentary: Under Caesar's Sword-explores how Christians respond to persecution

Documentary: Under Caesar's SwordThis is a documentary film that examines how Christians respond to persecution around the world. Based on in-depth research with Christian communities in 30 countries, this film chronicles not only the hardships they face but also their creative, powerful, or simply last-ditch efforts to survive, to build alliances that improve their security, and to resist the violation of their religious freedom.

A CNN exit poll of voters based on religious affiliation found that white evangelicals and Mormons backed Trump in large numbers on Tuesday. According to the poll, 81 percent of white evangelicals and 61 percent of Mormons voted for Trump.

Christianity Today reports Clinton’s campaign largely neglected evangelical voters, while Trump spent a lot of time reaching out to the voting block...

At Tufts University, arts and crafts were on offer. And the University of Kansas reminded students via social media of the therapy dogs available for comfort every other Wednesday.

Colleges nationwide scrambled to help students process Republican Donald Trump’s stunning election victory. They’re acknowledging that many students were up late watching results and so may not be at their sharpest in early-morning lectures. More so, they’re responding to a widespread sense of shock and despair on campuses to the victory of a candidate who offended Mexicans, Gold Star mothers, Muslims and the disabled during the course of the campaign...

Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. were central in shaping voters’ perceptions of the U.S. political climate and the two presidential candidates, Republican Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. One in five social-media users modified their views about a political or social issue because of a social-media post, according to a Pew Research survey published last month.

Mr. Trump, in particular, used Twitter as a primary means of communicating with supporters in a way no candidate has before, and to bypass traditional news outlets that he often accused of conspiring against his candidacy...

Five crucified bodies were put on display at a road junction on Tuesday, a clear message to the city's remaining 1.5 million residents that the ultra-hardline Islamists are still in charge, despite losing territory to the east of the city.

Others were seen hanging from electricity poles and traffic signals around the city, residents said on Wednesday...

Wednesday, November 09, 2016

Denny Burke: Thoughts about the most stunning election of my lifetime I have stayed up to the bitter end on election night. Secretary Clinton has just conceded the race, and President-elect Trump is delivering his victory speech as I type. There will be much to say in coming days about tonight’s result. Before turning-in for the night, I offer five quick thoughts on what we have just witnessed.

1. This is the American Brexit. It’s a populist realignment of the American two-party system. Donald Trump won 44% of the vote during the GOP primaries, and he has achieved a stunning victory tonight. The GOP is now the party of populism, not the party of conservatism. A similar populist strain runs right through the Democratic Party as well. That strain is reflected in the 47% who voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, and that strain will endure for the foreseeable future. This populist divide runs right through both parties and has changed everything this cycle. Will it endure? I don’t know. But there’s no question about what just happened. The people spoke, and their voice astonishes the ruling class. This result leaves the nation’s media and political elites as the shocked victims of their own presumption... image

Stocks rebound after scary overnight sell-off; Dow up more than 100 U.S. stocks were holding up remarkably well and jumped Wednesday as the major indexes pared steep losses after markets careened out of control in volatile trading overnight after a speech by U.S. President Elect Donald Trump helped reassure investors after his upset win vs. Hillary Clinton caught investors around the globe by surprise.

The Dow Jones industrial was up 140 points, or 0.8%, after tumbling as much as 800 points in late-night futures trading.

The broad Standard & Poor's 500 stock index, which was down 5% overnight and hit a trading halt designed to limit losses, erased its steep declines and was up 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.4%...

On the eve of the Nicaraguan elections in 1991, I participated in a press conference with three others who had been active during that campaign. They echoed the polls that had the Sandinistas winning by over 20 points. I predicted Violeta Chamorro’s victory. I stated the media polling, authorized by the communist government, was going to be flat wrong. The Nicaraguan people were telling the media what the media wanted to hear – then went to the voting booths and voted for freedom instead.

This is why the pundits got it all wrong. They believed the media and their spin, not just on the coronation of Hillary Clinton, but more important, on America’s repudiation of Donald Trump.

They saw Trump’s voters just as the Clinton campaign saw them: a basket of deplorables. All season long the pro-Hillary press treated Trump’s followers with utter contempt. At the same time the leftwing media were giving aid and comfort to Hillary Clinton, covering up her scandals when they could, spinning them in her favor when they couldn’t.

There Really Is a Silent Majority; the Right Wins the Culture War of 2016 ...It turns out the Republican National Committee really can run a get-out-the-vote operation. Reince Priebus, who appeared to be on the verge of being the chairman who presided over the Republicans’ worst defeats ever, is the man who ran the shop as the party enjoyed one of its biggest and most consequential comeback in history.

Hillary Clinton’s multitudes of state offices didn’t amount to a hill of beans. Clearly, her team was as blindsided as anyone else. All those data metrics, all those surveys, all that technology . . . In the end, all of that didn’t help her win a race where she was the front-runner all along. What’s more, none of that stuff gave her a clue that she was losing it. There has been a real Cult of Data built in the world of political campaigns, and I’ve genuflected a time or two to the idea that everything can be quantified, measured and calculated. Maybe gut feelings matter...

As news of the result was confirmed, they began to send congratulations - some fulsome, some more tentative - to the business mogul...

Nov 9, 2016Israel woke up to Donald Trump’s unexpected win in the U.S. presidential election on Wednesday, and local politicians were quick to offer their congratulations.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a statement congratulating Trump, saying: “President-elect Trump is a true friend of the State of Israel. We will work together to advance the security, stability and peace in our region. The strong connection between the United States and Israel is based on shared values, shared interests and a shared destiny.

The Top 5 Foreign Policy Problems Trump Must Deal With As President President-elect Donald Trump inherits a country deeply divided on a host of domestic issues. But the American people relatively agree about one thing—they don’t want to go to war. Unfortunately for Trump, America faces an international order that’s unstable and in disarray. If he doesn’t act to restore that order, we may soon find ourselves in another war.

Of the many foreign policy challenges Trump faces, a few stand out as the most pressing. Here are five conflicts the president-elect will have to contend with on his first day in office...

Trump is joined in the case by his running mate Mike Pence, the Republican National Committee and its chairman, Reince Priebus.

Tafuto said he was suing the defendants for 'punitive and compensatory damages in the amount of $1,000,000,000 for severe emotional pain, and suffering and for the deliberate and willful, obstruction of Plaintiff's constitutional rights'...

Anglican Unscripted Episode 254

Nov 3, 2016Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Each Episode Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe. Please Donate - http://anglican.ink/don

Zobrist has been given some incredible opportunities in his baseball career. Last year, he won a World Series title with the Kansas City Royals, and this year he has the opportunity to win another World Series with the Cubs who are looking to win the World Series for the first time since 1908.

“We know that as a Christian athlete, people are watching, and so we want to be the best example we can be and show that we are different – that Christ has changed our lives," Zobrist said in 2013. "But at the same time, I want people to know that grace is for everyone. We all need grace. We all need Christ...

The Bible Is the Bedrock of Civilized Society
...Holland appears to identify as a cultural Christian rather than a born-again evangelical, but this is still a significant shift because he had previously accepted an interpretation of history that came from Enlightenment writers who claimed that Christianity had ushered in an “age of superstition and credulity”.
But, eventually, that understanding was shattered:

“The longer I spent immersed in the study of classical antiquity, the more alien and unsettling I came to find it. The values of Leonidas, whose people had practised a peculiarly murderous form of eugenics, and trained their young to kill uppity Untermenschen3 by night, were nothing that I recognised as my own; nor were those of Caesar, who was reported to have killed a million Gauls and enslaved a million more. It was not just the extremes of callousness that I came to find shocking, but the lack of a sense that the poor or the weak might have any intrinsic value. As such, the founding conviction of the Enlightenment—that it owed nothing to the faith into which most of its greatest figures had been born—increasingly came to seem to me unsustainable.”

Even atheist Richard Dawkins has voiced concern about the decline of Christianity:

“There are no Christians, as far as I know, blowing up buildings. I am not aware of any Christian suicide bombers. I am not aware of any major Christian denomination that believes the penalty for apostasy is death. I have mixed feelings about the decline of Christianity, in so far as Christianity might be a bulwark against something worse.”

Reports of improperly discarded syringes have jumped 41 percent since last fiscal year, according to a recent city controller’s report. Complaints about feces have increased by 39 percent, with every district seeing a rise in the calls.

And, in a trend that must be disturbing to residents who don’t live near the Tenderloin or SoMa, long perceived as epicenters of filth, there were big increases in complaints about the outlying neighborhoods to the city’s 311 service portal for fiscal year 2015-16...

Wednesday, November 02, 2016

Archbishop Of Nigeria Battles For 'Faithful Church' Against Pressure To Compromise On Gays

November 1, 2016
Ruth Gledhill

The evangelical Archbishop who heads the Anglican church's most conservative wing has condemned the inclusion of one of the most liberal bishops in a delegation to meet the Pope.
He has also spoken of the growing pressure to "compromise" on the gay issue, which he describes as most intense in the Church of England.

Archbishop of Nigeria Nicholas Okoh, chairman of the conservative Global South grouping GAFCON, says in his latest newsletter that he was "deeply disturbed" that the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church (TEC) had gone with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to Rome.

Earlier this year, TEC was penalised by Anglican primates for its liberal stance over same-sex marriage and gay clergy.

The church was told it must face the "consequences" of its actions. the rest

The primates said TEC should "no longer represent us on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, should not be appointed or elected to an internal standing committee and that while participating in the internal bodies of the Anglican Communion, they will not take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity."Archbishop Okoh writes: "Many of us were therefore deeply disturbed that the Presiding Bishop of the American Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, was a prominent member of the Archbishop of Canterbury's delegation in Rome, despite the fact that the Canterbury meeting of Primates in January this year had resolved that, among other things, TEC should not be involved in representing the Anglican Communion in ecumenical or interfaith relations."

China's new stealth jet developed with 'stolen' US plans; Mohler: Will Beauty Save the World?...more

Albert Mohler: The cross of Christ may not be pretty, but it certainly is beautiful ...Similarly, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is certainly not attractive from the world’s perspective. The agony of the Savior, the blood of his self-sacrifice, and the horror of crucifixion are not pretty. Yet, while the cross is not pretty, it is certainly beautiful. The cross is beautiful because on it Jesus paid the penalty for sin. The cross is beautiful because in it we see the grace and justice of God. The cross is beautiful because it is also good and true...image

"Egg collection" agencies advertise their underground services to desperate infertile couples, while young women, especially university students, are lured by the prospect of earning substantial sums of money in payment but by doing so also risking their health.

Advertisements about "egg donation" or "surrogacy" can be seen everywhere on the streets around the Center for Reproductive Medicine of the Peking University Third Hospital, as well as on universities' online discussion boards in Shanghai and Beijing...

The nursing home mounted a legal challenge against the country’s new assisted suicide rules which require charities taking care of the sick or elderly and to offer assisted suicide when a patient asks for it, Catholic Herald reports...

Tuesday, November 01, 2016

GAFCON Chairman's October 2016 letter

This month, two ancient cities have hosted meetings which both tell us much about the future of our beloved Communion. With my brother GAFCON Primates, I was present in Cairo for the Sixth Anglican Global South conference at which twenty Provinces of the Anglican Communion were represented. At the same time, a group of Anglican Primates were with the Archbishop of Canterbury in Rome to celebrate fifty years of ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church.

In Cairo, I preached about the peace which Jesus Christ alone can bring. The unfolding tragedies in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan and the troubles of my own country call for Christians to be peace makers who love justice and long that ‘the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea’ (Isaiah 11:9).

The call to be peacemakers is also a call to evangelism because peace with one another cannot be separated from peace with God, and peace with God cannot be separated from faithfulness to the biblical and apostolic gospel of God. I therefore warmly commend the Global South Chairman, Bishop Mouneer Anis, for his bold warning about the ‘ideological slavery’ which some Western Churches seek to impose on the Global South by using their money and influence to promote teachings which overturn the bible and offer a false gospel.

Many of us were therefore deeply disturbed that the Presiding Bishop of the American Episcopal Church (TEC), Michael Curry, was a prominent member of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s delegation in Rome, despite the fact that the Canterbury meeting of Primates in January this year had resolved that, among other things, TEC should not be involved in representing the Anglican Communion in ecumenical or interfaith relations.

This incident is just the most recent of many failures which the Cairo Communiqué describes as ‘the inability of the existing Communion instruments to discern truth and error and take binding ecclesiastical action’. We need alternatives. GAFCON already has its five yearly conference and its Primates Council which provide ways for the Communion to relate on the solid basis of the shared doctrinal commitments of the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration and I was greatly encouraged by the willingness of those of us gathered in Cairo to work together and not be divided by culture, personality clashes or secondary issues.

I believe we see victory in our spiritual battle for a faithful Church when the orthodox are willing not only to stand, but also to stand together as we experienced in Cairo despite many cultural and historical differences. The Anglican Church in North America came about as a new province because of a willingness to surrender narrow ambitions for the sake of a wider cause and there is a lesson here in godly unity throughout our movement.

It is increasingly clear that the Church of England is becoming the place where pressure for compromise has become most intense and I am encouraged that 88 evangelical Anglicans leaders from varied backgrounds have come together this month to sign an open letter to the English House of Bishops calling on them ‘not to depart from the apostolic inheritance with which they have been entrusted’. Please join with me in praying for these leaders in the Church of England, the Mother Church of our Communion, asking for them to have courage and unity at this critical time.

Finally, I wish to thank all who prayed for the first GAFCON Bishop’s Training Institute Conference as mentioned in my September letter. We have had very positive feedback and there is already a waiting list for the next training conference. By God’s grace and with your support, GAFCON will increasingly take action to equip and encourage faithful leaders throughout the Communion.

The Most Revd Nicholas D. Okoh
Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and
Chairman, the GAFCON Primates Council

Guarding the deposit argues all gay relationships are a "disorder" and will "attract the eternal judgement of God". The 19-page discussion document was sent to all CofE bishops and evangelical leaders earlier in October and published last week....

Anglican Unscripted Episode 253

Nov 1, 2016Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Each Episode Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe. Please Donate - http://anglican.ink/donate

German Streets Descend into Lawlessness
◾During the first six months of 2016, migrants committed 142,500 crimes, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office. This is equivalent to 780 crimes committed by migrants every day, an increase of nearly 40% over 2015. The data includes only those crimes in which a suspect has been caught.
◾Thousands of migrants who entered the country as "asylum seekers" or "refugees" have gone missing. They are, presumably, economic migrants who entered Germany on false pretenses. Many are thought to be engaging in robbery and criminal violence.
◾Local police in many parts of the country admit that they are stretched to the limit and are unable to maintain law and order.
◾"Drug trafficking takes place right before our eyes. If we intervene, we are threatened, spat on, insulted. Sometimes someone whips out a knife. They are always the same people. They are ruthless, fearless and have no problems with robbing even the elderly." — Private security guard.
◾According to Freddi Lohse of the German Police Union in Hamburg, many migrant offenders view the leniency of the German justice system as a green light to continue delinquent behavior. "They are used to tougher consequences in their home countries," he said. "They have no respect for us."
◾"It cannot be that offenders continue to fill the police files, hurt us physically, insult us, whatever, and there are no consequences. Many cases are closed or offenders are released on probation or whatever. Yes, what is happening in the courts today is a joke." — Tania Kambouri, German police officer....

Rainbow Blight: Obama's LGBT Legacy
Late last week, NBC News posted an interesting column centered on the "quiet" mission of Obama's gay foreign policy. My only question is: what's quiet about it? Americans have watched an almost eight-year parade of LGBT activism from the rainbow flags at U.S. embassies to global bullying on homosexuality. During her time in the administration, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the Grand Marshall of the celebration, declaring to the world that "gay rights are human rights."

And now, two terms into that overseas mission, those "human rights" are profoundly trumping human needs. In a sweeping decision last week, the administration announced a new rule that puts faith-based aid groups in the crosshairs of the far-Left's crusade for genderless bathrooms, showers, and other facilities. National Security Advisor Susan Rice cheered the move in a speech at American University. Insisting that "the United States also needs to do more to institutionalize efforts to promote LGBT rights," she explained that her office is doing its part to reverse what she called the "backwards" environment the administration inherited in 2009. (By "backwards," I assume she means one that respects the First Amendment rights enshrined in the Constitution.) "As part of that commitment, I'm pleased to note that just yesterday, a new rule went into effect that explicitly prohibits discrimination by USAID contractors. This rule means that any organization that contracts with USAID must ensure that all people can benefit from its federally-funded programs, regardless of... sexual orientation and gender identity."

Translation: any organization with moral objections to the president's LGBT agenda will be ineligible for government aid contracts...